We awoke this morning 8:10AM with our typical vacation fashion. No alarm clock and no set plans for the day. There is a 9:00AM ferry boat that goes to the remote Fiji islands and possibly one a 10:00AM too. Kristin
and I decide that we will grab some fruit for breakfast and take a cab to the marina to attempt to get on a 9:00AM ferry
. We get dressed quick and head out the door. I head for the guest services to try and reserve a spot on the ferry while Kristin gets some fruit from the dining room. I bump into a person that is going to the island where Castaway Island was filmed. I did not realize that was in Fiji, but it sounds good. I ask to share a taxi with her oifamily to the Marina and we are on our way. Arriving to the docks a few minutes late, the boat staff tells us to hurry because the boat is sqwaiting for iPod us. I yell back at them "what ever happened to Fiji time?" They laugh and say that only applies on the way back.
We get on this cattle car of a Ferry boat, packed on each level with passengers going to the islands. It is a smooth boat ride and we find room on an outside deck to take pictures and talk to our new Australian friends that we shared a taxi with. They are funny and as we talk about our travels to New Zealand, they ironically share with me that Kiwi's (people from New Zealand) often don't establish eye contact
. I thought that it was just us, but they tell me that they don't know why it is, but they often don't look people in the eye. Not sure if this global across the culture, but it was something that we had difficulty with. Fiji, on the otherhand, is all eye contact. We have grown used to the the friendly Bula welcomes from every person we pass with a big smile and eye contact. Our boat passes several small islands, some not more than 50 yards long, others maybe a half mile to a mile long. These are all resort destinations for people. The 50 yard long islands look romantic, but would probably get boring for me pretty quickly. The bigger ones might be pretty cool, but I think we did well picking the Westin and taking a day cruise to determine which small island we liked best. I would hate to have picked one of these islands and not liked either the one restaurant on the island or the hotel that I stayed at. I meet another couple on the boat that stayed at the beachcomber island. It is a midsize island
. They tell me that the resort is a 3 star hotel, but the food is pretty bad and cost him about $40 US per person per dinner. He wishes he had more variety and is ready to move on to the next island. Our ferry takes us to Mana island. This island looks pretty cool and we exit our ferry boat, not knowing where we are going our how we are getting there, we follow the Australian family from our hotel. I guess we are getting on a sailboat for the next portion of the trip to the island of Modriki. Note: There is an island called Castaway Island, but the movie was filmed on Modriki.
The sailboat is fun and I walk to the front and out on the long plank to take the best pictures. It is exhilarating standing on this 15 foot plank in front of the rest of the sailboat with the wind and waves passing me be. All islands surrounding us could be postcards and I snap a lot of pictures before even arriving at the island. We get to Castaway and the dingy pulls up next to the sailboat to ferry us to the island
. Although Tom Hanks had difficulty swimming off this island, the waves are not near as big as in the movie and the water is clear to the water. I convince Kristin to jump over board with me and swim to the island. We jump in and within a couple minutes feel stinging everywhere. It is Sea Lice, the larvae from Jelly Fish. They sting you and frequently leave little bumps everywhere. Although the coral is beautiful and the water is clear, we swim quickly to the shore. I grab handfuls of sand and start scrubbing my skin with the white sand hoping to scrap off any Jelly Fish larvae that might me stuck on me. Unsure if this helps, I know that scuba divers recommend rinsing with fresh water right after a dive, but this seems like our best option. We both scrub our bodies thoroughly with the sand and head up to the island.
It is so cool coming to this island. Like many people that watched the movie Castaway, I remember dreaming of going to that island someday. Now, I am here looking up at the peak that Tom hanks climbed to just before setting off on the raft
. The locals joke that he got up there with a helicopter. There are coconuts on top of bamboo poles similar to what was shown in the movie. There is no sign of Wilson, the volleyball that drifted off to sea, anywhere. The island is cool to see, but the waves are not near as big as what was shown in the movie and there are many neighboring islands off the side of the island that the cameras never showed. We snorkel where Tom Hanks headed up on his make-shift boat. It is ok, but much of the coral has been heavily walked on. I head out pretty far to the end of a rocky cliff area where the waves are breaking. The current starts pulling me out to the sea and seems like it is pretty strong just passed the surf break. I figure this is where the filmed Wilson drifting off to sea. Although I easily swim out of the current and am never in any apparent danger, the dingy comes motoring our direction with the guide pretty concerned with us motioning that we swim back closer to shore.
We take lots of pictures on our way back in
. This island is beautiful. We crack coconuts on rocks when we get back to shore and drink coconut juice. I decide to give the other side of the island another try. It was much more beautiful despite the Jelly Fish. Sure, enough I have a stinging sensation all over my entire body as I swim out about 50 yards. It is kind of a freaky feeling and I rush into the shore and do the same sand scrub that I did before. I think they got me this time, but only have a few mosquito like bumps on my arms.
It is time to go and we sadly say goodbye to Modriki Island. I think that I could stay there for a good length of time and enjoy it pretty much. Our sailboat heads over to Yanuya Island. Here we go to a village and see how the people live there. The show us a Kava ceremony and I drink the Kava from a big bowl. It is a similar aftertaste to what I get when I have the Kava herbal supplement in the US. I think it relaxes me, but then again, I am on Day 4 in Fiji and think that I forgot what stress feels like
. Although this was interesting, I could have skipped this portion and either snorkeled from the sailboat a bit more or dove off the plank with my new Australian friend Ivan.
We head back to the docks amazed at all the views around us. Trying to compare Fiji to islands that I have been, I have to say it is the best that I have been to. Better than any island in the Caribbean, Bermuda and Maui. I like the slow laid back attitude in Fiji. Their genuine friendliness is so nice. Pricing for cruises are the same whether I book at the hotel or at the port. It is nice to not have to bargain with ten people to get a fair price. The weather is so nice right now, but not sure if this is just because they are going into their winter. I feel very welcome here and love the music that the locals play. I also think the coral is more beautiful than the other islands I have been to. My only worry is how I am ever going to leave this place and if I do leave, when I will ever have a chance to come back
.
We arrive back at the Marina near our hotel, get a quick bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. Well, maybe not so quick. Alright, one negative so far is the service at this restaurant. After maybe 15-20 minutes, our silverware arrived. after ten more, our nachos arrived, after another ten to fifteen, I went to get our water and my coffee arrived just before finishing the Nachos. We had to ask several times for each item. I volunteered to go to the bar to get the water when we ordered it and our guacamole never arrived, but we were charged for it. We will stick to our $12 sushi dinners from now on I think.
Although there is a free shuttle, we walk the 20-30 minute walk back to our hotel. It is so nice out and safe, we enjoy this walk and it feels very safe on this island. Exhausted, we skip any more food and relax on the balcony watching the sun go down. Life is good and I feel blessed in so many ways!
Day 46: June 12 Castaway Island aka Modriki Island
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Denarau Island, Fiji
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2025-02-14